Google+ communities arrive

Vic Gundotra, Google's senior VP of engineering, announced on December 6th that Google has started adding Google+ communities—online Google+ groups devoted to a specific topic such as a work project, a football team, Guild Wars 2 play, whatever—to Google+'s social-network offerings.

Gundotra said, “We started Google+ in the first place to make online sharing as meaningful as the real thing. Too often, our online tools miss the subtlety and substance of real-world interactions, and Google+ aims to fix this. Fortunately we've got a vibrant community to guide us."

He continued, "What’s been missing, however, are more permanent homes for all the stuff you love: the wonderful, the weird, and yes, even the things that are waaay out there.”

Google+ Communities  promises to be “a gathering place for your passions,” Gundotra said, supporting:

• Public or private membership for all kinds of communities with similar interests, whether a shared topic (such as photography) to local neighborhoods to regular poker nights.
• Discussion categories to make it easier for G+ members to find the conversations they care about
• The option to start hangouts and plan events with community members
• Features to share with a community from any +1 button across the Web

I am glad to see this community launch. Google+ circles should have made it easy for people with a particular interest – in Linux, writing science fiction, chess – to talk together. That functionality was never built into Circles, though.

Circles are good at other things, such as sharing and keeping track of friends, family, or co-workers and, to a far lesser extent, keeping in touch with people with similar interests. But they don’t let you focus on a topic; you just get a stream from a person.

For example, I have many people in my Linux circles and other have me in their Linux circles. But none of us always writes about Linux.

So, yes, if you follow Linus Torvalds, you'll read a lot about Linux, but you'll also read a lot about his thoughts on scuba-diving. If you follow me, you'll read my Linux-related posts, but you'll also see a link to the new Star Trek Into Darkness trailer. Perhaps you don’t mind that – how many Linux fans wouldn’t care about Star Trek? – but you might prefer to hear from me only when it’s on a subject you care about intensely.
communities2Creating a Google+ Community is child's play.

To create a Google+ community, take the following steps:

1. Go to https://plus.google.com/communities and click create community.
2. Choose whether yours should be a public or private community.
3. Give it a name.
4. Decide if you want to approve new members who want to join.

-zdnet.com

Save files to Google Drive with Chrome

This Chrome extension is particularly useful for Chromebook users and anyone who uses Google Drive to store their files more so than their hard drive. If either of these profiles describes you, then I would urge you to give Save to Drive a try. It's dead simple to use and provides useful functionality for storing any image you stumble across in Chrome, along with HTML5 video and audio files.



When you spot such a file you'd like to keep, right-click it. With Save to Drive installed, you'll see a line -- Save image to Google Drive -- has been added to your right-click menu. Choose it and after two status windows, the file gets added to your Google Drive account.

That's it -- dead simple in operation, no? There are, however, a few things Save to Drive does not let you do, perhaps as a result of the extension's simplicity. First, you can't specify a particular folder for files; they are added to My Drive. Secondly, when you click to open a file obtained via Save to Drive, you will not see a preview -- just a download link. Lastly, it does not support Flash.

Credit: Screenshot by Matt Elliott/CNET

Google to challenge Apple with 'open' AirPlay

Google is working on an open alternative to Apple's AirPlay wireless streaming technology, which the company wants to use to link Android devices to Google TV devices.

One of the strengths of Apple's iOS devices is AirPlay, a technology that enables the wireless streaming of audio, video, and photos between devices. Now Google has its eyes on this market, and is working on an open alternative to Apple's proprietary protocol.

Speaking to GigaOM, Google product manager Timbo Drayson admitted that Google has its sights set on the space and plans to pursue it aggressively.

"We really want to move the whole industry forward," said Drayson, before going on to say that Google is "actively working with other companies" to make this into an open standard that could be used on a number of platforms.

Google's primary motivation for developing this protocol is likely to be to enable content sharing between Android smartphones, tablets and Google TV devices.

But Google's plans go beyond simply streaming content. According to Drayson, the protocol that Google is working on allows for data to flow in both directions, which would "enable developers to build second-screen experiences that correspond to what’s happening on live TV" and for the "beaming content from your laptop to your TV screen".

While Apple's AirPlay is the best-known wireless streaming technology, it wasn't the first. The Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA) is a collaborative established by Sony in 2003 that enable the sharing of media such as music, photos and videos between devices such as computers, TVs, printers, cameras, and cell phones.

-Adrian Kingsley-Hughes (zdnet)

Google Updates Blogger Mobile Apps

Google has launched updated versions of its Blogger mobile apps for Android and iOS, bringing the version number on both platforms to 2.0.

The biggest new feature in the iOS app is iPad support, and other notable improvements include an improved user experience, landscape support, additional language support, sharing posts with Google+ and the usual array of bug fixes.

Android users also get an improved user experience and additional language support. Other new goodies include the ability to view a scheduled post time and automatic sign in when you view a blog on the web.

You can get the Android app over at Google Play, while the iOS app is available at Apple’s App Store

Google Maps Coming to the iPhone

Google is prepping Google Maps for the iPhone, offering a fix for customers dissatisfied with Apple’s poorly received Maps app, according to a report.

Citing “a person with direct knowledge of the matter,” The Wall Street Journal reports that Google is distributing a test version of its mapping app to people outside the company. Google is “putting finishing touches” on the app before it hits the App Store. However, it’s unclear exactly when that will happen. If and when that comes to pass, consumers will have an alternative to Apple’s Maps app, which comes preinstalled with iPhones.

Apple declined to comment on the matter. A Google rep told The WSJ: “We believe Google Maps are the most comprehensive, accurate and easy-to-use maps in the world. Our goal is to make Google Maps available to everyone who wants to use it, regardless of device, browser, or operating system.”

The introduction of Google Maps comes after Apple faced a pr crisis over its Maps app in September. The app, which came preinstalled on the iPhone 5 got poor reviews as users pointed out many inaccuracies. The outcry, exacerbated by the fact that Google Maps was not available on iOS6 or the iPhone 5, led to a rare public apology by CEO Tim Cook, an incident that was said to have prompted the resignation of mobile chief Scott Forstall.

Google’s acquiescence would signal the company’s calculation that promoting its app is more important than hurting its primary competitor in mobile phones. The complicated relationship between Apple and Google has already led to YouTube being withdrawn as a standard app on iOS 6. -Mashable

Android 4.2's four best new features

Some of the Android 4.2 upgrades are minor. Sure, it might be nice to use the Photo Sphere feature to stitch together photos to from Google Street View style panoramic images, but you're not going to do that more than once every blue moon. It's also nice that the 4.2 Play Store app includes a personalized music-shopping function, Music Explorer. Thanks to personalized music services such as Pandora, I really don't need more help in finding new music.

Other new features, however, will want you to make the jump. From least to most important in my book these are:

4) Smart Screen-Savers

Android 4.2's Daydream is actually a smart screen-saver. It lets you display photo slideshows, news headlines, and the like. While you're not likely to use this on a smartphone I know I'll set up a news feed screen-saver on my Nexus 7 tablet and I know my day-trader friends will be setting up market wires on their devices as well.

3) Gesture Typing

Do you use Swype, the popular third-party on-screen keyboard replacement? If you do, then you'll find the same basic functionality to make on-screen keyboards more useful in Gesture Typing. This probably won't be enough to sway hard-core Swype users away from their favorite virrtual keyboard, but it will show screen-typers that there is a better way than using a display keyboard than just as a QWERTY glass keyboard.

2) Miracast: From Tablet and Smartphone to TV

Apple recently introduced AirPlay Mirroring in iOS 5 and Mac OS X, Mountain Lion. With it, you can throw your screen to any Apple TV-equipped television. Android 4.2 will let you do the same thing with any TV, DVD-player, or other media device that supports Miracast.

Miracast is the trade name for Wi-Fi Direct or WiDi. This is an 802.11n compatible network protocol for display-sharing. With a compatible device or a Miracast adapter, you'll be able to stream Internet TV shows and movies from your smartphone or tablet to your TV. Miracast adapters will be available this quarter.

1) Multi-user support

On Android 4.2-powered tablets, but not on smartphones, you'll be able to have multiple users. Each user will get his or her own setup. That means, for example, you can have your own home-screen, background, widgets, apps and games, while your spouse or office partner can have their own unique tablet experience. You can set this up so a new user must login to the tablet or they'll be able to simply hit a button and away they'll go with their own tablet take. -zdnet.com

Google Wallet’s Help Site Mentions The “Google Wallet Card”

Just in case you needed more proof that the leaked news revealing a forthcoming physical Google Wallet Card is indeed legit, you can just visit Google’s own Help section on its Google Wallet website to catch a reference to the yet-to-be announced addition. On the page entitled “Eligible Devices,” Google mentions that all Android devices with an operating system of Android 2.3.3 or higher are able to download the Google Wallet app for use with the “Google Wallet card.”

Of course, “Google Wallet card” is precisely how the new, physical Google card was referred to when the leak was detailed last week.

In case you missed it, an anonymous tipster sent the Android Police blog screenshots obtained from an unreleased version of the Google Wallet Android application, which contained details of a “Google Wallet card” which is designed to be used where Google Wallet’s tap-and-pay feature isn’t an option. That feature, based on NFC, only works with specific NFC-enabled Android handsets at select NFC-enabled point-of-sale terminals.
The “Google Wallet card,” according to the leaked screenshots, will be a universal card of sorts that can take the place of any credit or debit cards in your wallet. Instead of carrying around all your plastic cards, you’ll be able to load them up into the Google Wallet online service, then use the physical Google Wallet card to make purchases with a swipe. The accompanying Wallet mobile application allows you to configure which credit or debit card the Google Wallet card will replace – and you can do this on the fly, too, from the sounds of it.

Although the leak was substantive – the tipster said he even received a confirmation email when requesting a card to be sent to him – it’s hard to know when exactly Google will officially announce the news. Hopefully, the mention spotted here on the Help page of the Wallet website is a good indication that the card is almost ready for primetime.

To be clear, the mention of the “Google Wallet card” is different from the “Google Wallet Virtual Card” (another Wallet feature also designed to be a universal card  for making payments), because the Virtual Card only works with contactless payments.

-Sarah Perez (techcrunch.com)

Google Nexus 10 review

With the launch of the Nexus 4 and Nexus 10, Google's flagship Android brand is fully equipped for the consumer battle — but still not enterprise-friendly. It may have arrived the week after the iPad 4, Apple's most advanced iPad, and buck the trend for smaller devices, but the Nexus 10 Google/Samsung co-production is already getting more attention. The Android tablet has more memory, higher resolution and a 16:9 aspect ratio in its favour, and with the latest 4.2 version of the OS on-board it has every claim to be as usable as Apple's device.

One main design cue that differentiates the Nexus 10 from the competition is the relatively large radius of its rounded corners, which together with the wide 2cm bezel gives the tablet a faint hint of a 1950s Bakelite television. Unlike those, however, the tablet is light enough to hold in one hand for extended periods, due to its use of plastic throughout the casework, while the back has a rubberised finish that secures even a light grasp.

This lack of weight makes the tablet feel slightly cheap and insubstantial on first contact, an impression amplified by the emphatic haptic buzz that accompanies use of the virtual keyboard. That gives a curiously hollow feel to the device for a few minutes, until one is sucked in to the sheer quality of how it actually behaves.

It will be a rare animal who isn't seduced by the combination of the stupidly high-quality screen (2560 by 1600 pixels, 300ppi), the lucidity of the Jelly Bean interface, and the fluidity of its actions. It's taken a while for Android devices to get the raw graphics firepower and enough iterations of the interface code to make the UI vanish during use, but it's got there now. Experienced Android users will soon learn the few changes in 4.2 — basically, a reassignment of how the setup and status areas are presented in the swipe-down bar at the top — and lose themselves in the familiarity of the rest. New users will appreciate how the commonest tasks in configuring the tablet and responding to events are presented in a logical and easily discovered hierarchy.


This lack of weight makes the tablet feel slightly cheap and insubstantial on first contact, an impression amplified by the emphatic haptic buzz that accompanies use of the virtual keyboard. That gives a curiously hollow feel to the device for a few minutes, until one is sucked in to the sheer quality of how it actually behaves.

It will be a rare animal who isn't seduced by the combination of the stupidly high-quality screen (2560 by 1600 pixels, 300ppi), the lucidity of the Jelly Bean interface, and the fluidity of its actions. It's taken a while for Android devices to get the raw graphics firepower and enough iterations of the interface code to make the UI vanish during use, but it's got there now. Experienced Android users will soon learn the few changes in 4.2 — basically, a reassignment of how the setup and status areas are presented in the swipe-down bar at the top — and lose themselves in the familiarity of the rest. New users will appreciate how the commonest tasks in configuring the tablet and responding to events are presented in a logical and easily discovered hierarchy.
nexus-10-settingsAndroid 4.2 provides convenient new access to common configuration settings.

It's the mark of a mature and well-designed interface that it gets out of the way as much as possible, but no further. In 4.2, and especially in the Nexus 10, Google is approaching this balance. Once a few functions are learned — how to pull up the gallery of running apps and tap to switch, how to pin apps to the desktop — there's little in the way of configuring the tablet to work as you wish.

Again, the screen is the star. With its cinematic 16:9 aspect ratio and 10-inch diagonal size, there's more room to set things up than on the (4:3, 9.7in.) iPad, That fat bezel vanishes from perception and the device is hard to put down. Whether you're flicking through photo galleries or rummaging through the Google Play app store, browsing around the web or binging in YouTube, the combination of the Nexus 10's lightness (603g), its eye-filling display area and the simplicity of switching between tasks make it a compelling toy.

The Nexus 10 deserves its place as the premier native Google tablet. In almost every respect it equals or outperforms the latest iPad 4, with Android 4.2 a worthy contender against iOS 6 — and substantially superior in the case of Google Maps, following Apple's self-inflicted mapping catastrophe. All this at a much lower price, reflecting Google's focus on advertising revenue over hardware margins. As with the other recent Nexus devices, it sets the standard for other manufacturers. If Google can persuade developers to fill in the gaps in the app market — and heavy sales are the only thing that will do that — then the Nexus 10 will deserve to be wildly popular.

Google AdWords Can Now Track iOS App Downloads

Google announced today that marketers and advertisers promoting iOS applications can now monitor conversions – meaning app downloads – using Google’s AdWords. The news follows Google’s earlier move this April to offer a similar tracking option for Android applications.

With the added support for the iOS platform, businesses can track downloads of their Android or iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch applications from their AdWords campaigns as an AdWords conversion. Simply put, it means that when a user downloads a mobile app from either Google Play or the iTunes App Store after first clicking on an ad, that download can now be tracked.

However, there is a caveat: Google says that for iOS applications, it’s only able to track downloads driven by ads served within mobile apps – it can’t track iOS app downloads that originate from ad on Google Search or its Google Display network. That limits the level of insight Google can provide into the Apple ecosystem, but at least it’s a step in the right direction in terms of understanding which campaigns are most effective.

In order to implement iOS app download tracking, app marketers will have to set up a new conversion in their AdWords account, download and integrate an SDK into their mobile app, then paste a small line of code into the app to call the SDK. The code snippet is found in the same section of their AdWords account where publishers previously set up their Android app downloads. It’s a few more steps to get going – Android app marketers have been able to track their apps codelessly, Google notes, just by setting up a new conversion in their account.

Note that downloads can only be tracked when the ad points directly to the App Store (third-party URLs are not supported). Google is hosting a webinar here on YouTube which will have more on this topic.

-Sarah Perez (techcrunch.com)

Introduction For Blogger & Adsense

If you've been thinking about monetizing your blog and are unfamiliar with how Google AdSense works, here are the three things you need to know:

1. AdSense is built into Blogger:
You can easily sign up and start showing ads on your blog, without having to leave Blogger, by clicking on the "Earnings" tab in your dashboard. After completing the AdSense application, the next step is to designate where you want the ads to appear on your blog. Once your application is approved, we’ll start serving ads and you’ll start making money. And unlike many other blogging platforms, Blogger doesn’t take a cut of your revenue.

2. AdSense serves relevant ads on your blogs:
AdSense works by matching text and image ads to your blog based on your content and the types of users that visit your site. For example, if you write about running, your readers may see ads next to your post about running shoes and equipment. Ads are created and paid for by advertisers who want to promote their products.

3. Great content is key:
Posting high quality content is the best way to maximize your returns with AdSense. It’s important to take a little extra time defining your topic, creating a post that is engaging and matters to your readers. The more interesting and appealing your content is, the more likely your readers will be to click on the ads on your blog.

This short video will also give you a quick overview of AdSense and how it works with Blogger:

Share your posts to Google+

Two of the biggest challenges we hear from bloggers are finding new followers, and engaging in a dialogue with their readers. By sharing your post to Google+, you enable an entirely new group of people to find and follow you. When you upgrade your blog to connect with Google+, the authorship information on your blog will reflect your common name as listed on your Google+ profile. You can then choose to associate certain blogs with a Page, or certain blogs with your profile. This association determines to which streams the posts will be shared once they're published.

When you publish a post, a pre-filled share box will be displayed. Select the circles that you wish to share with, add a custom message if you like, and click “Share.” Your post will then appear in either your Page or Profile’s (depending on which you’ve chosen for that specific blog) Google+ stream, as well as in the streams of those you’ve shared with.

Here’s how to get started:

This sharing option, along with future Blogger and Google+ integrations, is available to users who have linked their Google+ profile or Google+ page to their blogs so that they can blog and share to Google+ under the same common name.

To associate your blog with your Google+ page or profile, click the Google+ tab to get started.

Once you associate your blog with Google+, go ahead and write your post. After you hit Publish, you’ll see a share box inviting you to share your post with your circles on Google+. Note that the default circle is set to “Public,” but that you can modify your circles every time you choose to share.

If you don't want the share box to pop up after publishing a post, you can change the settings by going to the Google+ tab in Blogger and unchecking the check box at the bottom.




If you only want to share posts sometimes but don’t want to constantly change the setting, or if you want to retroactively share posts, you can use the “Share” option on your Posts page. Just hover over the post to view the option.

New Ultra-Slim Samsung Chromebook for $249

Google announced on Thursday a new budget Samsung Chromebook laptop, dubbed as “the computer for everyone.”

The 11.6-inch Samsung Chromebook — priced at $249 and available for pre-order now from Amazon, Best Buy and other retailers — aims to be the second or third computer in your household. It runs on Chrome OS and is super slim, measuring only 0.8 inches thick and weighing 2.5 pounds.

The device packs a Samsung-made ARM Cortex-A15 processor, 2GB of RAM and 16GB of flash storage. The screen resolution is 1,366 x 768, and the computer supports 1080p video playback as well as Bluetooth 3.0. It also comes with one USB 3.0 and one USB 2.0 port, is rated at hours of battery life and includes 100GB of free cloud storage on Google Drive.

Given the specs, the machine is less powerful than the Chromebooks Google unveiled earlier this year. Even for customers who already use Chromebooks as a main computer, Google is positioning the new model to serve mainly as an additional device — for example, to casually catch up on emails in the kitchen or connect with loved ones via video chat.

EU data agencies give Google ‘months’ to fix privacy policy

European data protection agencies today said Google’s new privacy policy does not comply with EU laws and told the US Internet giant to fix it within months or face legal action.

“Google has a few months, three or four months, to comply. If it takes no action, we will enter a phase of litigation,” said the head of France’s CNIL data agency, which took a lead role in a European probe into the company.

Google rolled out the new privacy policy in March, allowing the firm to track users across various services to develop targeted advertising, despite sharp criticism from US and European consumer advocacy groups.

It contends the move simplifies and unifies its policies across its various services such as Gmail, YouTube, Android mobile systems, social networks and Internet search.

The CNIL led an investigation into the policy by data agencies from all 27 European Union member states and on Tuesday presented its conclusions at a press conference in Paris.

In a joint letter to Google made public ahead of the conference, the agencies wrote that the US firm “provides insufficient information to its users, especially on the purposes and the categories of data being processed.

“As a result, a Google user is unable to determine which categories of data are processed in the service he uses, and for which purpose these data are processed,” it said.

CNIL president Isabelle Falque-Pierrotin told reporters that “we now demand adjustments” to the policy, failing which “authorities in several countries can take action against Google”.

She added however that such action would be taken on a national and not an EU level.

Critics have argued that Google’s new policy, which offers no ability to opt out aside from refraining from signing into Google services, gives the Internet giant unprecedented ability to monitor its users.

The California-based firm said the changes are designed to improve the user experience across the various Google products, and give the firm a more integrated view of its users, an advantage enjoyed by Apple and Facebook. — AFP/Relaxnews

Firefox 16 : More HTML5 deemed ready

A new version of Firefox has landed today with a big change for Web developers who prefer the browser, while a large handful of HTML5 gets a green light for browser support from Mozilla.

Firefox 16 (download for Windows | Mac | Linux | Android) makes far fewer sweeping changes than the previous update to Firefox.

A number of HTML5 code has been "unprefixed," which means that Mozilla has decided it has matured enough to run in the browser without causing instability. The newly unshackled HTML5 includes CSS3 Animations, Transforms, Transitions, Image Values, Values and Units, and IndexedDB. Two Web APIs that Mozilla helped to create, Battery API and Vibration API, are also now unprefixed.

These changes help keep Firefox competitive, but it also sends a signal to developers that Mozilla thinks these are good enough to begin baking into their sites. It's a strong endorsement of the "future-Web" tech.

Another nod to developers is the new Developer Command Line. It creates simplified keyboard controls for Firefox's developer tools. Mozilla described it in its blog post announcing today's update as "intuitive, completing commands and parameters for you." While it may not be the sexiest improvement, it does make Web development a bit more accessible. -Cnet

How to Install Extensions from outside the Chrome Web Store

Searching is fast and easy with Google's web browser.

A warning message in Google Chrome v22.0

Google wants your Chrome browser safe and therefore discourages users from installing any web apps and extensions that aren’t available in the official Chrome Web Store.

If someone tries to add an unapproved extension (CRX file) or a user-script (*.user.js) in Chrome, the browser will throw a yellow warning message as shown in the above screenshot.

There’s however an easy workaround to this problem.

First download the CRX file of any Chrome extension /web-app to your computer. Then click the Settings icon in Chrome (previously a Wrench icon) and go to Tools -> Extensions. Drag and drop the CRX file on this page and Chrome will gladly install the add-on.

Here’s a video demo illustrating all the steps in detail. The same technique can be used to install the unofficial Greasemonkey userscripts in Chrome. -labnol.org

Google Earth

Google Earth combines the power of Google Search with satellite imagery, maps, terrain and 3D buildings to put the world's geographic information at your fingertips.
With Google Earth,You canFly to your house. Just type in an address, press Search, and you'll zoom right in. Search for schools, parks, restaurants, and hotels. Get driving directions. Tilt and rotate the view to see 3D terrain and buildings. Save and share your searches and favorites.

Main Features:
View a world full of 3D content
Google Earth gives you a wealth of imagery and geographic information. Explore destinations like Maui and Paris, or browse content from Wikipedia, National Geographic, and more.

License:Shareware
Downloads:403314
Added:13 May 2008
Updated:16 Mar 2010
Developer:Google
Versions:

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Google Earth 4.2.0205
Google Earth 4.2.0198 Beta
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Google Earth 4.1.7087
Google Earth 4.1.7076
Google Earth 4.0.2746
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Google Earth 4.0.2693 Beta
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Google Earth 4.0.1657 Beta
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Google Earth 3.0.0762

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12.7 MB | Safe To Install

Facebook More Popular than Google

Do you know just how popular social networking site Facebook is? Back in February, when Facebook celebrated its 6th anniversary, Facebook’s co-founder Mark Zuckerberg announced that there re more than 400 million Facebook registered uses out there. Some of them access it on their desktop computer, others access the site while on the go, from their mobile devices. There are more than 100 million people that actively use Facebook from their mobile devices.

The number of registered users is proof that Facebook is quite popular. Do you know what else proves Facebook is hugely popular? The fact that Facebook surpassed the Google search engine in weekly hits to become the most visited website in the US of A. According to research firm Hitwise, in the week that ended on March 13, visits to Facebook accounted for 7.07% of web traffic – Google visits accounted for 7.03% - Findmysoft

Android Gets Official Google Buzz Widget

Google has released the Google Buzz widget for Android, which will make updating your status or tagging your location easier.

Google first launched Google Buzz for mobile about six weeks ago, and while the overall Buzz platform has undergone some changes and refinements, the mobile aspect of the service hasn’t really changed — until now.

One of my favorite Android features is that certain programs will let you use home screen widgets for easy access. This is most useful in a search or a social context — which is why having a widget for Google Buzz makes total sense.

The widget is only available in English right now, and it requires at least Android 1.6. Search “Google Buzz” in the Android Market to download the app. Once it’s downloaded, it can be added to your home screen the same way you add any other widget — click on your home screen menu, click on “add” select “widgets” and then select the option for Google Buzz.